Can I Move to Germany as a Teacher? Recognition, Language and Blue Card Rules for 2026

Teaching is a regulated profession

Germany's federal recognition portal lists teachers among the regulated professions, for which formal recognition of a foreign qualification is needed to work in the profession. The Standing Conference of the Education Ministers states that the Länder are responsible for recognising teaching qualifications earned abroad. Its guidelines also distinguish between taking up teaching work in schools and access to the regulated profession, which opens only once the qualification for a teaching post (Lehramt) is established. The same guidelines note that teaching work at schools may already be possible without a formal finding of equivalence. The procedure and the competent office therefore depend on the Land.

Recognition in Germany (BIBB, federal government portal): What is professional recognition? Kultusministerkonferenz: Anerkennung von Lehramtsabschlüssen Kultusministerkonferenz: Ländergemeinsame Eckpunkte für die Anerkennung ausländischer Lehrerberufsqualifikationen

Compensation measures and German level

Where the Land finds essential differences, the Education Ministers' guidelines provide for an adaptation course lasting no more than three years or an aptitude test, and the holder of the foreign qualification has the right to choose the type of measure, subject to an exception in Article 14(3) of the EU recognition directive. Taking part in a compensation measure that involves teaching requires German at least at level C1, with C2 to be aimed for. Berlin's education administration states that C2 must be shown at the latest when you are hired permanently in the Berlin school service. Other Länder may set different requirements.

Kultusministerkonferenz: Ländergemeinsame Eckpunkte für die Anerkennung ausländischer Lehrerberufsqualifikationen Land Berlin, Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie: Anerkennung von Abschlüssen als Lehrkraft

Blue Card salary thresholds for 2026

For a Blue Card, the Foreign Office table for 2026 lists a minimum salary of €50,700 a year in the standard case and €45,934.20 for the shortage occupations and other cases named in § 18g. Section 18g(1) names ISCO-08 occupation group 23 among the groups covered by the lower threshold, for which the Federal Employment Agency must consent, and the ILO classification titles group 23 Teaching Professionals. The Blue Card is for skilled workers with an academic qualification and needs a job offer of at least six months. Under § 18(2) AufenthG, a residence title for employment also requires that a professional practice permit has been granted or promised where one is required. Whether a particular teaching post falls within that group and meets the threshold is for the authorities to decide.

Auswärtiges Amt: Mindestgehalt (in Euro) - Arbeitsmigration 2026 Gesetze im Internet: § 18g AufenthG (Blaue Karte EU) International Labour Organization: ISCO-08, Volume 1 (structure and definitions) Gesetze im Internet: § 18 AufenthG (Grundsatz der Fachkräfteeinwanderung)

Settlement after the first permit

On the skilled-worker route, § 18c(1) AufenthG requires three years holding a permit under §§ 18a, 18b, 18d or 18g, 36 months of pension contributions or proof of comparable provision, and sufficient German (ausreichende Kenntnisse), which § 2 defines as level B1. A Blue Card holder can receive a settlement permit after 27 months of Blue Card employment with contributions and simple German (level A1), shortened to 21 months with B1 German. Other conditions apply, including those of § 9(2), and the lists given here are not complete.

Gesetze im Internet: § 18c AufenthG (Niederlassungserlaubnis für Fachkräfte) Gesetze im Internet: § 2 AufenthG (Begriffsbestimmungen, language levels)

What this article does not establish

It gives no salary figures for teachers, no processing times and no statement about teacher shortages or about which international schools sponsor visas, because none could be supported by an official source. Pay, language requirements and recognition steps differ by Land and by school type, so ask the competent Land authority and the immigration office before relying on any figure.